I am heading home to Detroit for Thanksgiving, and client meetings. Everyone in this business knows about winter in Detroit. On this trip, I will see ODE, Route One and (not confirmed yet) GMAC. I am proposing to continue running my brainchild, the Provider Exchange Network.
I have been polling my friends in the F&I Products industry, to hear their thoughts on DSP integration. In general, they report obstacles at the dealer level and lower volumes than anticipated. The growth in web services continues, of course, with scattered outbreaks of SOA.
What I mainly wanted to hear about was forms management. GE was the first, in my recollection, to provide completed contracts using their own web service – and this is now the trend. It seems increasingly unlikely that providers will hand their forms over for administration by a DSP.
My pal Kelly Spires has left Assurant to form his own general agency, Dealer Solutions Network. He will be representing a number of fine F&I products. Congratulations, Kelly. Any dealers (or providers) needing a new agent, please comment below or contact Kelly directly.
Dealer Track CEO Mark O’Neil gave an insightful keynote, ending with the topic of Internet car shopping. He described several features of a business-to-consumer (B2C) buying process, including online F&I. Since Dealer Track offers all of these features today, I wonder if Mark is planning a move into the B2C space.
Virag Consulting 